FanDuel ups its commercial game

FanDuel has spent much of September in the top 10 in commercial spending in the United States, at least according to figures that are publicly available at iSpot.tv. For the past seven days, FanDuel has spent an estimated $17 million.

DraftKings, meanwhile — which has spent as much as an estimated $25 million in a week at one point this month — dropped to No. 6 in spending.

Here is the top 10 in weekly commercial spend from iSpot, as of Monday morning:

Slightly divergent marketing paths for FanDuel, DraftKings?

DraftKings started off the NFL season with a bang, spending a great deal before Week 1 of the NFL season and continuing to spend heavily, according to iSpot, through the first week. Since then, it appears to have backed off its commercial efforts a bit.

Meanwhile, FanDuel didn’t even appear in the top 10 of spenders until the second week of September, and it has been ramping up its efforts ever since.

The move to up its commercial spending recently may have paid off. FanDuel filled its $5 million guaranteed NFL fantasy contest on Sunday, and announced it was adding a million in guaranteed prizes for this upcoming Sunday. DraftKings also filled its $7 million contest this Sunday, although that came after lowering the guarantee of its biggest contest from $10 million.

Will FanDuel keep it up?

How long FanDuel will hold down the top spot is unknown. Recently, a story at Mashable noted that FanDuel plans to taper off its commercial airings later this season while airing a wider variety of spots.

Will FanDuel be happy with the gains it has made in recent weeks and slow down its commercial pace, or will it continue to market aggressively on TV? Tune in to NFL games next Sunday to find out.

Written by

Dustin Gouker

Dustin Gouker has been a sports journalist for more than 15 years, working as a reporter, editor and designer -- including stops at The Washington Post and the D.C. Examiner.